I have 3 daughters so have also been struggling to find clothes that are appropriate yet still let them 'fit in' somewhat at school.  So far I've also had the best luck at secondhand stores since the clothes tend to be both less 'trendy' and more inexpensive.  I've also found Kohl's to be a good option at times, when I can afford to shop there - you have to be willing to search pretty hard at just about any department or discount store though, I've noticed.  The more modest clothes are often there - they're just not the ones right on the aisle or at the fronts of the racks.

Maybe someday they'll start making more clothes that will let a 6-year-old dress like a 6-year-old instead of a 16-year-old! (and don't even get me started on how a 16-year-old should dress, LOL)

Thanks for this post, Karen. My daughter is two and a half but enormously tall and so she's starting to wear some girl-size clothes instead of toddler clothes. At my price range (cheap!) it's awfully hard to find stuff that isn't all gross and hoochie. I'm actually attempting to learn to sew to get around this.

I'm also the mom of 3 girls (8, 5 and 2) and struggle with this constantly.  WHY do clothing makers feel the need to have our girls dressed so much older than their age??  You don't see a similar occurrence with boys' clothing - there's no issue there.  Argh.  At any rate, I have a mental list of clothing rules that I adhere to: no writing on the butt, no halter/tube/belly tops, no low rise, no sassy words on shirts, no bikinis, etc.  My girls know the rules and stick to them.  We try to shop at Old Navy and Target - both friendly on budget and easier to find age-appropriate items.  It's still a struggle!

I'd take the rack or thumbscrews over skinny jeans any day. By skinny jeans I mean that denim instrument of self-flagellation some of us keep around and try on from time to time in the vain hope we'll be able to fit into that unmaintainable size